Some 1,700 jobs have been put at risk as this week Legal and General proposed closing its Kingswood site by 2017.

A spokesperson for the financial services company confirmed yesterday the firm had begun negotiations with the Unite union which would potentially lead to closure of the site in St Monica's Road, Tadworth.

Unite regional officer for the south east, Ian Methven slammed the plans as a ‘reckless decision made to make maximum short-term profit’.

Mr Methven said: "Legal and General have claimed the proposal will best serve their customers but it will actually be detrimental all around - to customers, their shareholders and their employees."

Legal and General said it could transfer the vast majority of its 1,700 Kingswood roles to offices in Hove or even as far as Cardiff.

They have also declined to comment on the guarenteed job losses.

A spokesperson said: "The Kingswood office lease is up for renewal, and therefore it is sensible to see if the work cannot be done in our other offices, in a way that could benefit our customers.

"If that were to happen, then the vast majority of the roles in Kingswood will be transferred to our Hove and Cardiff offices."

Mr Methven disputed this, arguing the two alternate sites do not have the capacity for the 850 jobs which represent half of the Kingswood workforce, and so the losses will represent ‘a substantial majority of employees’.

He said: "It’s a very unfortunate loss because a lot of these employees are very highly-skilled actuaries with specialist knowledge in the industry."

Mr Methven also contended Legal and General’s assertion of the need to cut costs, arguing they will still need to pay the remainder of a lease which runs until 2025.

Unite is currently consulting with members, which will carry on into September, before opening talks regarding redundancies and compensation with Legal and General.

Are you affected by the plans? Get in touch. Comment below or email Ben.weich@london.newsquest.co.uk